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Sonali Bendre was recently trolled after she posted about how naturopathy contributed to her cancer recovery. Her posts sparked anger among medical professionals, who called her out for promoting “quackery.” However, in a new post, the actor defended her earlier statement and emphasised that naturopathy helped her during recovery and continues to do so. Sonali was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic cancer in 2018. She was declared cancer free in 2021.
In her latest post, Sonali clarified that she is no doctor, but she simply shared what she experienced as a cancer patient. She wrote, “I have never claimed to be a doctor, but I’m certainly not a quack either. I am a cancer survivor, someone who has lived through the fear, pain, uncertainty, and rebuilding that the disease brings.”
Talking about naturopathy and autophagy’s role in her cancer treatment, she wrote, “Everything I’ve ever spoken about has been my experience and my learning. As I’ve repeatedly said, no two cancers are the same, and no treatment path is identical. One of the many protocols I personally explored, after thorough research and medical guidance, was autophagy. It made a difference for me then, and continues to do so today… for me,” she added.
Addressing doctors dismissing her, she said, “What truly matters is open, respectful dialogue. We don’t all have to agree, but we should avoid dismissing one another simply because we lean toward different approaches. Each person must choose what feels right, safe, and empowering for them. I will always share my journey with honesty and humility, never as a prescription, but as lived experience.”
For the unversed, autophagy is the body’s natural process of “self-eating,” where cells break down and recycle old, damaged, or unnecessary components.
Last week, she posted about autophagy on her Twitter account and her experience with it. She wrote, “In 2018, when I was diagnosed with cancer, this study really helped me. My naturopath introduced me to it, I researched it, and this is what I followed – Autophagy for healing. And I continue to follow it till date.”
Hepatologist Cyriac Abby Philips, popular as The Liver Doc on Twitter, dissed Sonali and reminded her that she turned to modern medicine for her cancer treatment. “You moved to New York for an intense cancer treatment regimen, including chemotherapy, radiation and surgery. In 2019, you shared that you had achieved remission, and was officially cancer-free and returned to India. I repeat, your cancer went into remission after chemotherapy, radiation and surgery at an advanced cancer treatment hospital. Not because of Naturopathy. Not because of autophagy. Because you have the option (and privilege) to opt for the best treatments from scientific practice to help you,” Philips wrote.
In response to her latest tweet defending naturopathy, The Liver Doc wrote, “Sonali Bendre is not a quack. The Naturopath she is taking advice from is a quack. Sonali Bendre, like many others before her and many more after her, are victims of ‘big claims, zero evidence’ pseudoscientific practices such as Naturopathy. The whole point is not to victimize Ms. Sonali, but to focus on the aspect that education does not equate to intelligence and intelligence does not equate to rationality.”
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